The winner was announced during a luncheon hosted by Edward Enninful and Caroline Rush

LONDON – Wales Bonner has won the 2019 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, an annual prize that comes with 200,000 pounds in cash and a year’s worth of mentoring and support from members of the industry.

Wales Bonner, designed by Grace Wales Bonner, was picked from a shortlist that included a broad range of creative businesses, from jewelry to footwear to men’s and women’s wear, with brands including A.W.A.K.E. Mode, Alighieri, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, David Koma, Neous and Rejina Pyo.

“Wales Bonner is one of the most promising creatives in the world right now,” said Caroline Rush, chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council. “The judging panel was impressed by her exceptional talent for storytelling and craftsmanship and we look forward to seeing her grow.”

Wales Bonner graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2014, and the following year she was awarded the Emerging Men’s Wear Designer prize at the British Fashion Awards. In 2016 she received the LVMH Young Designer Prize. She has presented her collections at the Serpentine Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and has lectured at Parsons in New York. Her collections are sold at retailers including Dover Street Market, Selfridges, 10 Corso Como, and Joyce.

Edward Enninful and Caroline Rush with the winner of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, Grace Wales Bonner, at the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund announcement in London.
WireImage for Vogue

The award was announced Wednesday during a lunch at the private members’ club The Conduit. Following the event, Wales Bonner said she would use the six-figure sum to build up the brand’s infrastructure, and hire some more staff, including a finance manager. She also said she’d be working with the BFC and the industry mentors to hammer out a business plan and set out a strategy for the next three years.

She said her staff is just four people and she’s eager to make key hires: “We’re stretched right now, and the prize will give us the security and stability to develop,” she said. Having launched as a men’s designer and later introduced women’s wear, Wales Bonner said she plans to build both categories.

“The women’s wear has been successful, and has had more visibility and we’re moving towards an place where both collections will be equal,” she said. Earlier, she told guests at the lunch – a mix of designers, editors and judges – that she was “grateful to be part of London’s fashion scene.”

Established in 2008, the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund aims to discover new talent and accelerate growth over a twelve-month period. Although some of the labels on the shortlist are new, others are more established, have secured investment and are looking to take the next step in business.

David Koma and Maria Hatzistefanis
Darren Gerrish/Courtesy

The fund is supported by British Vogue, Burberry, JD.com, Inc., Label/Mix, Paul Smith, Rodial and Topshop.

The judging committee was chaired by Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, with judges including Erdem Moralioglu, Gemma Metheringham of Label/Mix; Harlan Bratcher, JD.com, Inc., Maria Hatzistefanis of Rodial, and Paul Price, Topshop.

Before announcing the name of the winner, Enninful said he was pleased to see a range of businesses on the finalists’ roster: “women’s wear, accessories, gender neutral – this is London, right? It’s proof of the incredible pool of talent here,” he said.

Mishcon de Reya support the shortlisted designers and winner through pro-bono legal services, with Farfetch, Google, Launchmetrics and the BFC’s Fashion Business Network also supporting the award.

Social Studies

You might not know who Beanie Feldstein is now, but the breakout star is poised to be a name synonymous with comedy. ⁣⁣
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Beanie stars in @OliviaWilde's directorial debut "Booksmart," opening today. The film has been dubbed the female "Superbad" — which is somewhat ironic since Beanie is actor Jonah Hill's younger sister. ⁣⁣
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“She is sort of like Paris Geller meets Lisa Simpson with a little bit of Sandra Bullock in ‘Miss Congeniality.’ I liked the idea of showing that a girl can be silly and loose with her friends and also be really intense and kind of biting at school,” Beanie said of her character, Molly.⁣ ⁣
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The actress also said that Wilde’s take on the story is “fresh and honest” and she was “whip-smart” in her directorial debut.⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣⁣
Report: @leighen⁣
📸: @jgreenery
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#wwdeye
#booksmart
#beaniefeldstein

It looks like Kris isn't the only momager in the Kardashian-Jenner family. ⁣
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Kim Kardashian is setting up son Psalm West for success in the fashion, beauty and home sectors — at the ripe old age of two weeks. ⁣
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On May 18, Kardashian filed a trademark for her son for “Psalm West” under her company, Kimsaprincess, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. ⁣
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Now all of the West children have trademarks filed under their names. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
Report: @laylailchi
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#wwdfashion⁣
#kimkardashian⁣
#psalmwest

Natalie Portman, Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, and Roger Federer at the Moët & Chandon in France. ⁣
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The intimate dinner celebrated the 150th anniversary of its Brut Imperial blend, at its just-reopened Château de Saran overlooking the vineyards of the Champagne region in the east of France.⁣
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There were fireworks, towering pyramids of Champagne glasses — plus vines and VIPs as far as the eye could see. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report: @fleurfleurette
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#wwdeye
#moetchandon

Shailene Woodley has no desire to keep up with the superficial standards of Hollywood.⁣
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“If you look at Hollywood — and I’m no saint in this regard — but every single time somebody gets a little bit more famous, they get a little bit thinner, and they get a little bit blonder, and they get a little bit more defined in their face,” Woodley says. ⁣
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“There’s sort of this sense of machinery that can happen to people in the limelight, and I was very fortunate also at a young age to work with so many incredible, strong women who were already a little rebellious in their own ways against the machinery that can be this industry.” ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more.⁣
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Report: @leighen ⁣⁣
Styling: @thealexbadia⁣
📸: @ninebagatelles⁣
Production: @jgreenery⁣
Beauty: @keithcarpenterhair & @tyronmachhausen ⁣
Market: @andrew_shang & @elmercer⁣

The Prada Group is going fur-free. ⁣
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The company will no longer use animal fur in its designs or new products, starting from the spring/summer 2020 women’s collections. ⁣
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Creative director Miuccia Prada explained that the company “is committed to innovation and social responsibility,” and that its fur-free policy “is an extension of that engagement.”⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more.⁣
Report: @luisazargani
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#wwdfashion⁣
#prada⁣
#furfree

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi is launching an apparel collection. ⁣
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The Argentine athlete, who captains both FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team, has partnered with MGO, a brand portfolio company whose chief creative officer is Tommy Hilfiger’s sister, Ginny Hilfiger, to create Messi.⁣
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The premium lifestyle brand with “a sporty edge” will be primarily men’s wear but will include a few women’s tops as well, according to Hilfiger.⁣
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Hilfiger said despite his fame and wealth, Messi “is a really humble, generous and kind person and a great role model. He has been involved since we started talking to the Messi family two-and-a-half years ago when we presented the idea to them. ⁣
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report:⁣ @jeanpalmieri
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#wwdfashion⁣
#LionelMessi ⁣
#FCBarcelona⁣
#mgo⁣
#GinnyHilfiger

Once upon a time in Cannes, @ellefanning had another major red carpet-moment in @Dior.
Tap the link in bio to read what growing up in Hollywood was like for the youngest-ever jury member at Cannes.
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#wwdfashion
#ellefanning
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#onceuponatimeinhollywood

Shailene Woodley is an all-in or not-at-all kind of woman — leading her to get the reputation as the hippie of Hollywood. ⁣
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She views her experience of “breaking out,” if you will, as a kind of shepherding by older, wiser female costars along the way, women she says helped her steel herself against the superficial demands of the industry. ⁣
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One of those women, @reesewitherspoon, spoke to us about Woodley's inspiring performance on "Big Little Lies." “Her portrayal of a woman who is both a survivor of sexual assault and a single mother raising her child alone in a new community is one of the most truthful performances I’ve ever seen. There is a scene in episode two of this season where Jane explains her assault to Ziggy that moves me to tears every time I see it," Witherspoon said. ⁣
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Woodley's acting choices have earned her a reputation for being a talented and utterly professional one to watch, but it’s her candid, unabashed activism in real-life that people are taking notice of. ⁣
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“I think it’s very easy for all of us to be comfortable in our bubbles and to be comfortable in the lives of privilege that a lot of us live, to be comfortable in our own space, in our own opinions, in our own forms of what we think is right or wrong, black and white, justice and non-justice — but ultimately until every single person on this planet feels like they are treated like a proper human being, I’m not going to stop because more than anything, I’m just somebody who deeply feels,” Woodley said.
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Tap the link in bio for more. ⁣
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Report: @leighen ⁣
Styling: @thealexbadia
📸: @ninebagatelles